Overview

• Pope Francis's death at age 88 has triggered the Vatican's centuries-old ritual to elect a new pope in the coming weeks.
• Cardinal Mykola Bychok, a 45-year-old Ukrainian-born bishop from Melbourne, is the youngest of the 120 eligible electors under age 80.
• Bychok, elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis in 2024, is Australia's first cardinal since George Pell and the eighth in the nation's history.
• A vocal advocate for Ukraine, Bychok has condemned Russia's invasion as genocide and called for peace and justice in his public statements.
• The conclave will follow traditional protocols, with secret ballots and smoke signals, to select the next leader for the world's 1.3 billion Catholics.